POUGHKEEPSIE – Mental Health America of Dutchess County (MHA Dutchess) held its “Spotlight Gala” on Thursday evening to honor 18 members of law enforcement that have used crisis intervention skills to save a life.
MHA Dutchess CEO Andrew O’Grady said the Meritorious Service Awards presented to the officers are the result of their CIT training. “The honorees saved the lives of people that wanted to die,” O’Grady said, adding “Police officers either get a negative rap when something bad happens or get no recognition at all and it’s important that we recognize them.” The mental health expert also said, “We don’t believe that the police should be defunded in any way but additional money should be provided to pay for CIT training for law enforcement.”
The 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training is designed to help educate police officers on how to effectively interact with individuals who may be in crisis due to behavioral health or developmental disabilities. This partnership between law enforcement, advocacy, and mental health communities is part of Dutchess County’s ongoing effort to divert individuals dealing with mental illness from entering jail. The CIT training is part of the Dutchess County Law Enforcement & Community Training Initiative.
Several members of the Beacon Police Department were honored for their efforts in preventing a man from committing “suicide by cop”. Suicide by cop is a situation where a suicidal person threatens police in a way that requires officers to use deadly force against the person. In August, officers responded to a call reporting a man with a handgun on the platform of the train station and a description of the man. Joseph Sergeant Conti, Detective Thomas Durkin, Officer Alyssa Rudden, Officer Silverio Santiago, and Officer Michael Connor responded and located the man.
As the incident unfolded it was found that the subject called the police himself. In talking with the police, the man admitted he was suicidal and had tried to kill himself in the past.
“This incident could have ended tragically but due to the responding officers’ training and tactics in crisis intervention as well as de-escalation, a suicide-by-cop incident was avoided,” said MHA Dutchess Crisis Worker Lashavious Dicker in presenting the award. “The officers were able to detain the subject without the use of physical force because they stayed calm and projected a caring and comforting stance thus disarming the man both physically and emotionally.”
The subject was transported to MidHudson Regional Hospital for psychiatric care.
All of the honorees at the gala were credited for saving lives using the techniques learned in CIT training. In addition to the Beacon honorees, officers from several other departments had similar incidents that resulted in their recognition by MHA Dutchess.
Law enforcement honored by MHA Dutchess:
MTA Police
- Officer Richard Gomez
- Officer Christopher Canonico
- Officer Travis Zehr
- Officer Airamadisien Mundo
- Officer Pete Connolly
- Detective Ken Stewart
Beacon Police Department
- Sergeant Joseph Conti
- Detective Thomas Durkin
- Officer Alyssa Rudden
- Officer Silverio Santiago
- Officer Michael Connor
City of Poughkeepsie Police Department
- Lieutenant Damon Brodhead
- Sergeant Jason Deigan
Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department
- Officer Kevin Brady
- Officer James Doyle
- Detective Dawn Anemelo
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office
- Deputy John O’Brien
- Detective Jared Griffin
MHA Dutchess Board President Paul Ackermann congratulated the honorees and said “The partnership between MHA Dutchess and many of the county’s law enforcement agencies for training and other programs have saved lives and provided services to those who need it.”
